Several years ago, James Industries, Inc., owner of the present application, made popular an articulated toy which incorporated the famous SLINKY.RTM. brand spring toy that it originated. The toy was characterized by fore and aft body sections connected together by a SLINKY.RTM.brand spring toy. Both body sections had wheels and a string attached to the fore body section so that, when pulled, the toy would move across the surface with a spring providing both longitudinal expansion and contraction and curvilinear relative movement. The body sections were made of plastic and formed into animate figures, such as a dog, frog, kitten, caterpillar, and inanimate figures such as a train.
In the above-mentioned toy products, opposite ends of the spring were received within recesses of the hollow body sections and were secured simply by means of short flanges engaging the spring coil portions at select peripheral locations. This provided a satisfactory connection; however, increased emphasis on toy safety has generated a need to provide a connection which not only contains the end portions of the spring, but which also provides a connection which resists disconnection in the normal course of usage.